"You Are Stupid and Daft" - VDM Fires Back After Presidency Threatens to Arrest Him Over Fake Tinubu Audio

"You Are Stupid and Daft" — VDM Fires Back After Presidency Threatens to Arrest Him Over Fake Tinubu Audio

Nobody ever accused VeryDarkMan of knowing when to back down. And if the Nigerian Presidency thought calling him out publicly would quiet him, they clearly do not know who they are dealing with.

What started as a viral AI-generated audio clip has exploded into one of the loudest public standoffs between a Nigerian government spokesperson and a social media activist in recent memory. On one side: Bayo Onanuga, the Presidential Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, demanding prosecution. On the other: Martins Vincent Otse, known to tens of millions of Nigerians as VDM, calling Onanuga "stupid," "daft," daring the government to arrest him, and asking why the Presidency had nothing to say about a beheaded teacher while scrambling to silence a content creator.

Nigeria, as expected, has picked its sides loudly.

How It All Started: The AI Audio That Broke the Internet

The controversy traces back to a viral audio clip that began circulating on X and WhatsApp in the days leading up to May 27, 2026. The recording featured a voice that sounded like President Bola Tinubu making a series of deeply inflammatory statements.

According to those who heard it, the voice in the audio said: "I've begged Peter Obi to step down for me. He refused. Now I will make sure the insecurity affects only the South East." The voice went further, allegedly saying: "I don't care what's happening. Nigeria deserves it because when I was running as president, they didn't want me. Now, all of a sudden, they want me to rescue them from insecurity." It also allegedly included statements about deliberately borrowing more money and refusing to stop insecurity because it served as an election fundraising tool for the ruling party.

Explosive does not even begin to describe how that content landed on Nigerian timelines.

An X user with the handle @Pious_minister circulated claims that VDM had shared the clip in one of his videos, presenting it as a genuine leaked recording. The story picked up speed fast, and by the time the Presidency got wind of it, the audio had reached millions of people.

There is now a key dispute about whether VDM actually presented the audio as real, or whether his video was edited and rearranged by someone else to make it look like he was vouching for it. A blogger going by Crown Prince, who circulated one version of the clip, has since publicly apologised and admitted to spreading misinformation. PIDOM Nigeria, a fact-checking account on X, pushed back against Onanuga directly, telling him to do his homework and verify facts before threatening people. They claimed that one version of the circulating video had been manipulated with AI-generated audio, while the original clip that VDM actually posted was different.

None of that nuance reached Onanuga before he went public.

Onanuga Pulls the Trigger: "VDM Must Face the Weight of the Law"

On Wednesday, May 27, 2026, Bayo Onanuga posted from his verified X handle and made his position clear in the kind of language that was guaranteed to generate maximum heat.

"This VDM needs to face the weight of the law for being the conveyor and disseminator of a fake audio of President Tinubu. This is a clear case of an egregious abuse of the social media platform."

In a broader statement, Onanuga accused VDM of spreading "false information capable of misleading the public and damaging the image of the President." He argued that the circulation of manipulated or unverified materials on social media poses serious dangers to public trust, national security, and democratic stability.

He called the audio fabricated. He called its spread deliberate. And he called for legal consequences.

The Presidency, for its part, did not immediately confirm whether formal legal proceedings would be initiated. But the public statement was enough. The story was now a full confrontation.

VDM Responds: No Retreat, No Apology

VeryDarkMan was in China at the time of Onanuga's statement, reportedly on a trip he described as part of negotiations for a power plant project in Nigeria. The distance did not slow him down.

In a video posted to Instagram that same night, VDM went straight for the jugular. He did not issue a clarification. He did not offer any diplomatic language. He came out swinging.

"President spokesman Bayo, you are a very stupid old man. I'm not trying to insult you, but look at the meaning of stupid. That's what you represent. That is who you are."

He went further: "I swear to God, you are so daft, and this is the reason why I said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should not come back in 2027, because all the people that operate under him don't use their brains."

VDM accused the government of having a pattern: every time he speaks against Tinubu's second term bid, they find a new angle to come after him. He said the whole situation, the viral clip, Onanuga's statement, and the pile-on from other Twitter users calling for his arrest, was an orchestrated effort to silence him. He said he would rather go to jail than stop speaking.

Then he asked the question that cut through everything else.

"Bandits went into a school in Oyo State. They carried three teachers, one man, two women, they carried students. One of the teachers was backing an infant child. Few days later, there was a report that one of the teachers was beheaded. Bayo Onanuga, where is your comment on that? As I speak to you today, it is Children's Day. Those children are still in an unknown location. Where is your urgency for that?"

That pivot landed harder than any insult. And Nigerians noticed.

The Reaction Online: Nigeria Did Not Stay Quiet

By Thursday morning, the VDM versus Onanuga exchange had become one of the most talked-about topics in Nigeria. The quote tweets, voice notes, and WhatsApp broadcasts were everywhere.

The reactions broke down along fairly predictable lines, but the volume of those defending VDM and criticising the Presidency was striking, even among people who had no particular loyalty to the influencer.

One widely shared comment read: "Why is VDM a bigger problem that needs to face the weight of the law when the kidnappers of school children who also beheaded a school teacher are living freely and waiting for your handshake and ransom payments? Do you, Bayo Onanuga, think that all Nigerians can be fools forever?"

Another said: "Shameless old man. APC and their propaganda. VDM clearly said 'you see this next video I'm about to play.' But you daft fools decided to cut and join and added a fake audio, just to show how dumb you guys are."

Others pointed out a pattern they felt was becoming too familiar: government officials staying silent on real security crises, then showing remarkable speed and urgency the moment social media criticism touches the President's image.

The blogger who originally spread the manipulated version of VDM's video has since apologised. That apology, too, became part of the conversation, with many arguing it proved VDM had been misrepresented from the beginning.

The Bigger Picture: AI Deepfakes, Accountability, and Free Speech in Nigeria

Beneath all the noise, this story touches something genuinely important.

AI-generated audio and video content is now sophisticated enough that it is increasingly difficult for ordinary people, and apparently some presidential spokespeople, to immediately verify what is real and what has been manipulated. The technology to clone a public figure's voice and insert fabricated statements is widely accessible. Nigeria, like every other country, is entering an era where disinformation will become harder to detect and faster to spread.

The Presidency's reaction, going straight to prosecution threats before the facts were fully verified, is exactly the kind of rushed response that defenders of free expression have long warned against. The risk is that legitimate criticism of government gets swept up in the same legal net as genuine disinformation, especially in a political environment where the lines between the two are routinely blurred by both sides.

VDM has a large and loyal following, and a track record of speaking on issues that matter to ordinary Nigerians: police brutality, kidnapping, cost of living, government accountability. His tone is often combative. His language is regularly colourful. But his core message in this exchange, that the government cannot ignore beheaded teachers and kidnapped schoolchildren while claiming urgency over a social media clip, resonated with people well beyond his usual audience.

Whether or not VDM shared the audio in good faith, whether or not the original posting was manipulated before it circulated widely, the question he put back on Onanuga's desk does not go away: where was the Presidency's voice when it mattered most?

Where Things Stand Now

As of May 29, 2026, the Presidency has not confirmed any formal legal action against VDM. He has not retracted his statements or apologised. The blogger who admitted spreading the manipulated clip has apologised publicly. INEC-monitored presidential primary drama is competing for space in the headlines, but the VDM-Onanuga exchange continues to circulate.

VDM has said he will return to Nigeria and dared the government to follow through on any arrest threat. Whether that dare gets tested remains to be seen.

What is already certain is that the Nigerian government took what should have been a fairly routine AI misinformation incident and, by responding the way it did, turned it into a national conversation about insecurity, free speech, government priorities, and accountability. That conversation was not going away before the response. After it, it is louder.

Key Timeline of Events

DateEventMay 25-26, 2026AI-generated audio clip attributed to Tinubu goes viral across X and WhatsAppMay 27, 2026Onanuga posts on X demanding VDM face the law for sharing the "fake audio"May 27, 2026VDM responds from China, calls Onanuga "stupid" and "daft," dares government to arrest himMay 27, 2026Blogger Crown Prince apologises for spreading manipulated version of VDM's videoMay 27, 2026PIDOM Nigeria challenges Onanuga to verify facts before threatening VDMMay 28, 2026Nigerians trend the story nationwide, Presidency yet to confirm formal legal proceedings

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What was in the fake Tinubu audio?

The AI-generated audio featured a voice mimicking President Tinubu making inflammatory statements about deliberately allowing insecurity to affect the South-East, telling Peter Obi to step down, and linking insecurity to election fundraising for his party. The Presidency denied the audio was genuine and described it as fabricated.

Q: Did VDM actually post the fake audio himself?

This is disputed. An X user accused VDM of sharing the clip, and a blogger later admitted to circulating a manipulated version. PIDOM Nigeria claimed one version was AI-edited while the original VDM video was different. VDM denied presenting the audio as genuine.

Q: What did VDM say to Onanuga?

VDM called Onanuga "a very stupid old man" and "daft," accused the Presidency of trying to silence him for opposing Tinubu's 2027 re-election bid, and challenged Onanuga to explain why the government had not spoken up about kidnapped and beheaded teachers in Oyo State.

Q: Has VDM been arrested?

No. As of May 29, 2026, the Presidency had not confirmed any formal legal action. VDM said he was in China at the time and dared the government to follow through on any arrest threat upon his return.

Q: Why did VDM's insecurity argument resonate with Nigerians?

He pointed to a specific incident where bandits kidnapped teachers and students in Oyo State, with reports that one teacher had been beheaded, occurring around Children's Day. Nigerians contrasted the speed of Onanuga's response to VDM with the perceived silence on that tragedy, and the comparison landed hard online.